A little change in the air.

A week of sunlit warmth for Summer to slowly begin to wave goodbye.
Golden patches of sun to be found later in the mornings. Walks with an occasional leaf falling quietly and slowly. Morning and evening surprises of Summer-sounding birds. Window still open, reaching for an extra cardigan in the evenings.

Some new prints from my on-line shop:

You make my branches grow.
Summer is shyly waving goodbye here, but is waving hello on the other side of the world. The cuckoo sings its arrival, meadows bloom and trees come into leaf. The ewe bleats after her lamb and the cow is lowing for her calf.

Star-gazing seat.
Light dims earlier and then starry skies. A low-hanging crescent moon, a sliver of gold nearly tipping the earth. Next weekend is a full moon. Lets sit on this comfy seat and watch for it.

St. Kevin and the Blackbird. (a Seamus Heaney poem)
St Kevin was known as a lover of nature. Legend has it that one day Kevin was praying with his arms outstretched in his cell in Glendalough. His cell was so small that his hands reached out the windows. As he was praying, a blackbird came and nestled in his open hand. The blackbird built a nest and laid her eggs. St. Kevin decided he wouldn't move his arms until the egg had hatched and the chick flown away. 

Getting late earlier.

These days the evenings are getting late earlier. The light and the warmth becoming more precious. Breakfasts sitting outside becoming fewer - the dew and the shadows resting longer and reaching further.

Quieter evenings too. Birds saying goodnight and going to sleep in the darker trees earlier (maybe I should do the same). At least two layers of long sleeves for walks now. Imperceptibly, yellow and brown hints appearing on trees. Inaudibly too, but then a breeze and they are more rustle-y than a week ago.

Above: a lighthouse, a dolphin, and a landscape like a green patchwork blanket. Painting Aran Islands in June on an August afternoon in Dublin.

August, a month with two seasons in it.

The air is cooler and fresher. The sometimes golden sun still echoes Summer but it hangs lower in the sky making the shadows reach further. The big, old oak and sycamore trees cast long shapes across the windy grass. Their leaves are hinting, tinting yellow, red and brown. The swallows are gathering and preparing for their long journey. Gentle reminders of Autumn.